Yirgacheffe Woka Cooperative Coffee Origin Story Characteristics Woka Coffee Beans Brewing Processing Method and Flavor Description

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FrontStreet Coffee today wants to share a coffee suitable for beginners - the washed Yirgacheffe Werka. Werka coffee comes from the town of Werka in the southern coffee-growing region of Ethiopia, producing high-quality Yirgacheffe coffee characterized by fresh and elegant floral aromas, clean and bright acidity. The coffee is mainly grown by over 700 local small farmers, processed using traditional washed and natural methods. Because Werka coffee's outstanding flavor profile possesses regional characteristics, it has become one of the representatives of Ethiopian specialty coffee. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the richness of Werka's flavor is largely inseparable from the farmers' cooperative efforts, careful coffee harvesting, and rigorous processing. Yirgacheffe has always been an indispensable coffee-growing region in specialty coffee, a treasure in the coffee industry. If one day Yirgacheffe coffee is no longer so charming, FrontStreet Coffee believes the development momentum of specialty coffee will slow down.

Yirgacheffe is located in the Gedeo region of southern Ethiopia. This region governs the relatively well-known Yirgacheffe and Kochere areas, with altitudes ranging from 1700-2100m, making it one of the highest-altitude coffee-growing regions globally and synonymous with Ethiopian specialty coffee. In the rift valley, represented by Misty Valley, mist lingers year-round, creating a spring-like climate with gentle breezes, cool and humid conditions. Thousands of coffee tree varieties thrive and propagate here, nurturing Yirgacheffe's unique terroir where delicate floral and fruit aromas intertwine in an ambiguous and ever-changing manner.

Coffee Cultivation in Yirgacheffe

Coffee cultivation in Yirgacheffe mostly follows the garden coffee model, where coffee farmers plant coffee trees near their living areas, harvest them themselves during the harvest season, and then send them to nearby water-based processing plants for unified processing (or they are uniformly purchased by middlemen). Except for a small number of powerful plantations that independently plant, harvest, and process coffee beans, many coffee beans from different regions and varieties are centrally processed by processing plants and then sent to auction houses for official evaluation and grading. This is also why we often see Ethiopian coffee beans named and distinguished by processing plants or cooperatives.

Why It's Called Werka

The Werka Cooperative belongs to the YCFCU cooperative federation. Established in 2005, the Werka Cooperative is located in a remote area within the Yirgacheffe coffee-growing region, 75 kilometers away from the local coffee distribution center of Dilla town. The external road conditions are poor, with a 20-kilometer dirt road from the cooperative to the paved main highway. The cooperative consists of 305 farmers with a cultivation area of about 763 hectares and an annual output of nearly 460 tons, making it a relatively small-scale farmers' cooperative. Because no chemical fertilizers and pesticides were used during the coffee cultivation process, the Werka small farmers also obtained Skal organic coffee certification recognized by the European Union.

More than half of Ethiopian coffee cultivation belongs to the Garden Coffee model. As the name suggests, garden coffee means small farmers grow coffee in small areas in their backyards, with an average cultivation area of 0.5-1.5 hectares per household. Coffee is the main cash crop, and they also plant miscellaneous grain crops similar to bananas for shade and food. Each farming household is not only self-sufficient in food but also exchanges coffee beans for other daily necessities. This production method, combined with local unique native tree-species coffee gardens, makes each batch of coffee beans have different flavors and considerable uniqueness. FrontStreet Coffee purchased this batch of Yirgacheffe-Werka, which uses traditional washed processing and has the typical washed Yirgacheffe character, with distinct floral aromas and rich citrus notes in both dry and wet aromas.

Washed Processing Method

Screening coffee cherries — removing pulp — fermentation — washing — drying — hulling

Place the screened coffee cherries into a depulper to initially remove their skin and pulp; put the coffee beans with remaining pulp and mucilage into water to ferment for about 24 hours; after fermentation, place the parchment coffee beans in flowing water channels to wash away their pulp and mucilage; after washing, dry the coffee beans in the sun or use a dryer to reduce the moisture content to about 12%. Finally, remove the parchment from the coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

Yellowing point at 5'10", first crack begins at 8'53", temperature 185.5°C, development after first crack for 1'45" before dropping at 195°C

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Werka Color Values

Agtron bean color value 71.3 (upper image), Agtron ground color value 80.9 (lower image), Roast Delta value is 9.6

Yirgacheffe Werka Washed

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe

Altitude: 1850-2100m

Processing Method: Washed

Grade: G1

Variety: Heirloom

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Dose: 15 grams

Ratio: 1:15

Grind size: Medium-fine grind (BG 6S: 80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

Brewing technique:分段式萃取 (Segmented extraction) - First pour: Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Second pour: Small circular water flow until reaching 120g, then pause. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue with the third pour until reaching 225g, then stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the beginning of bloom) Total extraction time is 2'00".

Flavor description: Initial taste reveals lemon, plum, and Tieguanyin tea notes. Caramel flavors become pronounced as temperature changes, with bright acidity and noticeable aftertaste.

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